We Had A World by Joshua Harmon
A dying woman calls her grandson and asks him to write a play about their family. “But I want you to promise me something,” she says. “Make it as bitter and vitriolic as possible.” In this searing, funny and deeply personal play, playwright Joshua Harmon recreates 30 years of family fights, monstrous behavior and enduring love. We Had a World premiered off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club on February 25, 2025. The production featured Joanna Gleason , Andrew Barth Feldman, and Jeanine Serralles. It was followed by a run in Boston at the Wimberly Theatre before premiering in the UK at the Hampstead Theatre , where it ran from May to July 2026. Director Frank Foster seeks two actors to play the roles of Ellen and Joshua. Our Equity contract has been fulfilled, seeking two non-AEA actors for remaining two roles. Auditions by appointment. All actors paid. Details on the website link.
2 roles
Ellen is a powerhouse role that anchors the play’s heavy emotional stakes, representing the grounded, painful reality of living with an addict. Ellen is Joshua's mother and Renee's daughter. Unlike her mother’s theatrical, larger-than-life persona, Ellen is hardworking, feisty, often funny, and deeply realistic. She carries the invisible, heavy scars of growing up as the child of an alcoholic mother.
Josh serves as the central protagonist, narrator, and a thinly veiled stand-in for the playwright himself. He is a sensitive, observant aspiring writer who is intensely shaped by the women in his life. His career in theater is directly inspired by his grandmother, who introduced him to art, Broadway shows, and literature at an early age. He anchors the play's 30-year timeline (spanning 1988 to 2018).
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